Our green, simple living, smallholding dreams.

Tag Archives: food storage

We have a mini-orchard here at Westwick. In fact it is one of the reasons we moved here. There are two eating apple trees, two cooking apple trees and a crabapple. I haven’t been as on top of the harvest as I would have liked in this first year mostly because I have a small baby (and now a bad back).

We reckon we have over 300lbs of apples this year (not including the crab apples). I have managed to store just 30lbs so far on cardboard sheets in the cold back bedroom. It took a while to sort through them (whilst baby wrangling) putting the perfect ones in a small layer of newspaper and then lining them up in order of perfection, with the least good ones nearest the door to be used first.

I used a couple of websites to help me with storing my apples over winter. Looks like the key is – don’t let them touch each other and only long term store perfect apples. Even the tiniest bruise on an apple can ruin the lot.

Simple pureed apple for the baby in the freezer (in case he doesn’t take to baby-led weaning in a couple of months)

Apple Crumble

Apple Pie

And our family favourite: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Apple and Almond Pudding.

But I am also trying some new recipes…

Apple Pudding (from the Romany Cookbook)

Ingredients:

Apples peeled, cored and sliced (I used 4 Bramleys)

Large tablespoon of Honey

Cinnamon and Nutmeg

4oz Self Raising Flour

2oz Vegetarian Suet

Water

Brown Sugar

I cooked the sliced apple in a little water, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg in a shallow frying pan (one without a handle which we keep for this very purpose). Then I made a suet dough with the flour, suet and water and rolled it out to fit over the apples in the pan. Then I sprinkled the top with sugar. Put a lid on the pan and put it in the oven on 180 for 20 mins. At the end I took the lid off to crisp up the top of the pastry for 5 mins.